Albanian Language Media:

• Lajcak after the 2-hour meeting with Kurti: We expected greater understanding (media)
• Kurti: Kosovo’s membership in EU and NATO has nothing to do with Serbia (Sinjali)
• Plan for “political assassinations” in Kosovo, only a rumour (media)
• French Ambassador: I am confident news on threats will be investigated (media)
• LDK: Conduct independent investigations into assassination plan (Klan)
• Hoti to government: Do not compromise on goals of dialogue and coordinate with allies (Sinjali)
• EP to investigate Varhelyi on suspicions of favouring Serbia in negotiations (Klan)
• Kurti visits areas affected by floods (Reporteri)

Serbian Language Media:

• Vucic: I am certain Serbia will not join EU soon (Tanjug)
• Gazivode Dam safe, no room for panic, spillway opened on time (KoSSev)
• Floods affecting Serb-populated areas (Radio KIM, KoSSev, Kosovo Online)
• Djuric: Strategic affairs to be discussed with “big five” (Tanjug)
• Odalovic banned from entering Kosovo again (RTS, Tanjug)
• Ukrainian Ambassador: We are grateful to Serbs for humanitarian support (N1)
• Vucic to meet with Lajcak, Escobar, political advisers (media)
• Vucic receives German representatives (media)
• Kenya confirms it will not recognize Kosovo (RTV)
• Lawyer of Sladjan Trajkovic filed an appeal on his detention measure (Danas)

International:

• ‘We need autonomy’: Kosovo Serbs object to western diplomacy (Financial Times)

Albanian Language Media  

Lajcak after the 2-hour meeting with Kurti: We expected greater understanding (media)

The Special Envoy of the European Union for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Miroslav Lajcak, has made a statement after a long meeting with the Prime Minister Albin Kurti, and five other international Envoys.

“We came here today with a strong delegation of the EU and the USA, which is a signal that we are committed to the normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia. The purpose of the meeting with Kurti was our proposal for the normalisation of relations that we presented in September and then in December,” he said in a media conference immediately after the meeting.

Lajcak further said that the meeting was not easy, but it was honest and open. 

“We spent more than two hours, which shows that the meeting was long, it was not easy, but it was very honest and open. It is too early to make any dramatic statements because as you know we are in the middle of our mission and we will continue to Belgrade, so there is not much I can say, but I can say that we have expected greater understanding of the possibilities that this proposal offers. I hope we will get there. We will continue to work,” Lajcak concluded.

Otherwise, Kurti received today the Special Representative of the European Union for the Kosovo-Serbia Dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, the advisors for foreign policy and security of the Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz and the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, Jens Plötner and Emmanuel Bonne, the diplomatic advisor of the Prime Minister of Italy, Francesco Maria Talò and the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the United States for European and Eurasian Affairs and at the same time the Special Envoy of the United States of America for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar.

After the meeting with Kurti, the EU-US delegation will visit Belgrade, where they are expected to meet with the Serbian president, Aleksandar Vucic.

Kurti: Kosovo’s membership in EU and NATO has nothing to do with Serbia (Sinjali)

Prime Minister Albin Kurti has spoken about Kosovo’s membership in the European Union and NATO, in an interview for the Swiss national broadcaster “SRF”. He said that Kosovo’s membership in the EU and NATO has nothing to do with Serbia. 

“Kosovo’s obstacle is only the five non-recognizing EU states. But we will not give up,” Kurti said.

He was challenged by the Swiss television with the question that ‘is he not adding fuel to the fire’ in relation to Serbia, but Kurti said that he is only protecting the country’s ‘integrity, sovereignty and democracy’.

“We are a young state but an old people. We cannot give up the functionality of our state and the territorial integrity, the integrity of the borders,” he added.

Kurti said that Serbia is not a democratic country and cannot compromise with independence and freedom, while according to him, Serbia should distance itself from the regime of Slobodan Milosevic.

“And the Serbian government must distance itself from Putin’s regime, with which it works closely,” Kurti said.

Next, the Prime Minister of Kosovo spoke about the risk of a possible conflict, mentioning the Wagner mercenary groups, which he believes have recently been observed in Serbia.

Read the interview here: https://bit.ly/3IX0hRw

Plan for “political assassinations” in Kosovo, only a rumour (media)

The plan for “political assassinations” of LDK and PDK leaders in Kosovo turns out to be nothing serious and complete rumours, Paparaci news website reports. Shukrije Ismaili, who lives in Germany, is the source of the information. The second person behind the information turns out to be LDK MP Armend Zemaj. Investigations by the Serious Crimes Department of Kosovo Police show that this is unserious information and not based on any information from Western intelligence services that are partners of Kosovo. Shukrije pretends she works for German Police and that she got the information from a chat on social media.

The news website claims to have secured a copy of the investigation report by Kosovo Police into the matter. It notes that “Shukrije Ismaili had communicated with MP Armend Zemaj, telling him about some information related to a group called ‘The Eye of the People’,” and according to the police report “she told him that they were planning the political assassinations of the leaders of these two parties and several MPs”.

The police report also notes that there are no details that information on the matter were given by the German intelligence service.

French Ambassador: I am confident news on threats will be investigated (media)

French Ambassador to Kosovo, Olivier Guerot, expressed concern over news on threats against political leaders in Kosovo. He wrote in a Twitter post: “News on threats against political leaders are a matter of concern. I am confident that they will be investigated. Full support to Kosovo and its thriving democracy.”

LDK: Conduct independent investigations into assassination plan (Klan)

The Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) has thanked all the citizens of Kosovo in general and its membership in particular for the support and calm shown so far regarding the information about the planning of assassinations against the chairman of the LDK, Lumir Abdixhiku, and the three MPs of the LDK.

The LDK also thanks the international partners for the support given in this case.

“The LDK calls on the competent bodies to, in accordance with the seriousness of the situation, in which four representatives of the citizens of Kosovo are potential targets, to conduct independent investigations and maintain professionalism, as well as discretion regarding this investigative process.”

Hoti to government: Do not compromise on goals of dialogue and coordinate with allies (Sinjali)

LDK MP Avdullah Hoti said that today is an important day to define, together with the allies, the steps in the dialogue process for the final, legally binding agreement for the normalisation of relations and mutual recognition between Kosovo and Serbia.

The former prime minister of Kosovo, through a post on his Facebook profile, wrote that the agreement must be in accordance with the Constitution, which preserves the unitary character of the state of Kosovo, which addresses all open issues between the two countries once and for all so that the two countries to move towards European integration.

“I hope that the government and the negotiation team have prepared their plan and proposals for the emissaries for dialogue who are in Pristina today,” Hoti emphasised.

The former prime minister also has a piece of advice: “Hold fast to the principles that must be respected in the negotiation of the agreement. Do not compromise on the goals of the dialogue but find the necessary modalities for reaching an agreement. Coordinate with our allies.”

EP to investigate Varhelyi on suspicions of favouring Serbia in negotiations (Klan)

The European Parliament has already officially approved the request for an internal investigation against the EU commissioner, for allegedly favouring Serbia during the bloc’s expansion negotiations.

The Dutch MEP who initiated this request, Thijs Reuten, was happy about this, while announcing this move through a tweet.

“That’s right. With 357 in favour, 180 against and 95 abstentions, the European Parliament adopted my call on the Commission to investigate Commissioner Várhelyi over his conduct in the Western Balkans. I look forward to the results of the investigation,” he wrote.

Kurti visits areas affected by floods (Reporteri)

Prime Minister Kurti together with two ministers went to Istog, to see closely the damages caused by the floods. Kurti, together with the Minister of Defense, Armend Meha and the Minister of Local Government, Elbert Krasniqi, visited the village of Dreje, one of the most affected villages in Istog.

About eight villages of Istog have been affected by the floods, said the mayor of this municipality, Ilir Ferati.

The government has called on all citizens in the endangered areas to be careful with their movements in the following hours, to avoid crossing the roads with the presence of water, and to respect the traffic rules. It is also announced that citizens can inform the Emergency Operations Center through the emergency number – 112.

Serbian Language Media 

Vucic: I am certain Serbia will not join EU soon (Tanjug)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Thursday in Davos he was certain Serbia would not join the EU soon and noted that he was slightly pessimistic about EU accession and that the EU’s popularity had declined in the region.

I am slightly pessimistic about the possibility of Serbia and everyone else in the region joining the EU in the relatively near future, he told a World Economic Forum panel titled Widening Europe’s Horizons. We are in talks, but we will see – we have views that differ from those of the EU, he added.

The EU’s popularity in the region – in North Macedonia and Serbia in particular – is on a decline, and even in Montenegro as well, Vucic noted. He said this was expected due to political pressure on Serbia and North Macedonia regarding Kosovo and the national identity issue, respectively.

When asked if Serbia would ever join the EU given its stance not to align with the block’s position on Russia and the Ukraine war, Vucic responded: “We respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine, but we also respect our territorial integrity”. The Crimea and the Donbass are parts of Ukraine and we will not change our position, he added. 

Serbia respects all UN resolutions and the UN Charter, but some big powers respect neither the Charter nor UN SC Resolution 1244 when it comes to Serbia’s territorial integrity, Vucic noted, adding that he believed sanctions lead to no solutions as Serbia had been under sanctions for a decade.

Gazivode Dam safe, no room for panic, spillway opened on time (KoSSev)

The Gazivode Dam is safe and the water level in the lake has room to rise another metre and a half up to two metres. It is an embankment dam. As a precaution, the spillway was opened on time – only one of the four dam covers. The Ibar Lepenac company expressed hope that the situation will improve as early as tomorrow, as the water level of the torrential rivers flowing into the lake is already falling, KoSSev portal reports.

Experts in charge of the safety and operation of both dams on Gazivoda Lake in Zubin Potok state that there is no room for panic and that the spillway was opened as part of a standard procedure carried out when the water level rises.

KoSSev spoke with Marko Vulovic, director of public enterprise “Ibar“, about the situation in Gazivode, bearing in mind the rumours circulating around the town that the dam on the lake may overflow.

“The situation is not alarming, there’s still room for the water rise reserve, but I started to discharge the water in time and control the wave. We are trying and of course, we will continue to try to stretch it out as much as possible, until the water coming from the direction of Montenegro and Ribaric passes. That is our priority“, Vulovic said.

“In other words, I’m not waiting for the water to rise to the maximum so that there is no room for action and I have to discharge 500 cubic metres, I started on time, I am discharging 100 cubic metres“, he adds. He confirmed that the spillway was opened, only one of the four dam covers.

Read more at: https://bit.ly/3Hi9faz

Floods affecting Serb-populated areas (Radio KIM, KoSSev, Kosovo Online)

Serbian media report that recent heavy rainfalls caused flooding in the Serb-populated areas in Kosovo as well. The situation today as reported is being under control.

Radio KIM reports Zubin Potok was among the most endangered municipalities, and that the Provisional Municipal Authority declared a state of emergency because of the situation until further notice. The roads that were blocked yesterday by landslides and rain have been opened today. The Ibar River damaged the bridge connecting the villages of Dobrosevina and Citluk with Zubin Potok. Also the football stadium Mala Marakana was flooded. The situation in the villages of Janjenica was difficult yesterday, while villages Dren, Crepulja and Jabuka are cut off from the rest of the municipality. Residents of Strmce village had to leave their houses, while residents of Zupce were also affected, and children from kindergarten had to be evacuated. Kindergartens in Zubin Potok municipality will not work today out of precautionary measures.

Several households in ethnically mixed Bosniak Mahala in Mitrovica North settlement were flooded yesterday, and the municipality urged people to help fill in the sandbags and help build protective embankments against the flooding.

KoSSev portal reported that residents who were unable to leave their homes yesterday have been evacuated. Firefighters, municipal and other services, as well as volunteers rushed to their aid, the portal said. A total of 120 families were evacuated from 11 residential buildings. More than 30 people were housed in the student dorms. Late in the afternoon, the municipality called on residents to help strengthen the embankment with sandbags. The municipality has also opened a phone line available for all people who don’t have a place to stay (064 85 23 709).

Residents of the municipality of Zvecan are also besieged with floods, where the water has reached some houses and garages in the settlement of Gvozdici, as well as in the village of Doljane, KoSSev portal reported. Parts of Banjska were also flooded, where the river bearing the same name overflowed and swept away a bridge. A similar situation befell the municipality of Leposavic, as well as the municipalities south of the Ibar.

President of Leposavic Provisional Municipal Authority Zoran Todic said today the situation in Leposavic municipality was still very difficult, and that dozens of objects have been damaged by the floods. He said three households in Borovo village were flooded, and the roads leading to some villages in the municipality had been cut off. Three bridges collapsed, one was completely destroyed, and another one suffered significant damage. He also warned of landslides on a number of local roads. He said that all members of firefighter and rescue units, public utilities company, directorate for roads, private sector with their equipment and volunteers were engaged in fighting the floods and that the situation is being monitored.

Osojane, a returnee settlement in Istok municipality was heavily affected as well. The river Kujavca flooded a number of households and agricultural parcels there, bringing rubbish and trash from the upper stream.  

In Gracanica as director of the municipal public services department Vladica Trajkovic said there is no danger from floods and the situation is under control. Preventive measures against flooding were also undertaken.  

Djuric: Strategic affairs to be discussed with “big five” (Tanjug)

Serbian Ambassador to the US Marko Djuric says a Serbian delegation headed by President Aleksandar Vucic will discuss strategic affairs important for Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija at Friday’s meeting with international representatives.

Djuric said the delegation would inform the “big five” of Pristina’s latest violations of Brussels agreements, including a ban on ambulances getting through administrative crossings, which he noted was an issue already raised by US State Department counsellor Derek Chollet.

“I think it is good that the US has spoken out against Kurti’s violations of the licence plate agreement”, Djuric said.

He said that, however, the Quint representatives would certainly speak about their views on the situation.

“And there are no particularly easy things for Serbia there. We know the US and other Quint states recognise Kosovo and Metohija as independent and that we have differing views on that issue, but I believe and I hope we will find a way to cooperate efficiently on stopping (Pristina PM Albin) Kurti’s destabilising actions and on maintaining stability, which is definitely a common interest”, Djuric said.

He said he did not believe the visit by the “big five” was a D-Day for Serbia, but that this was definitely the last moment for implementing the Belgrade-Pristina agreements.

Odalovic banned from entering Kosovo again (RTS, Tanjug)

Serbian Government Missing Persons Commission Chairman, Veljko Odalovic was banned from entering Kosovo by Pristina authorities again under explanation that the previous ban “still remains in force”, RTS reports.

Odalovic told Tanjug news agency he requested permission for visit through the Belgrade liaison officer in Pristina but received a negative response.

“They denied my visit, although it was for private matters as I wanted to visit a cemetery in Kosovo Polje and light candles. I wanted to visit graveyards of my beloved ones, but it was all in vain. Obviously, nothing is sacred to them (Pristina)”, he said.

Pristina banned Odalovic from entering Kosovo several times, and the last time it happened was at the end of December last year when he was supposed to attend the meeting of Association of Missing and Kidnapped Persons families, despite announcing the visit two days in advance. 

Ukrainian Ambassador: We are grateful to Serbs for humanitarian support (N1)

Ukrainian Ambassador to Serbia Volodimir Tolkach told N1 TV’s show Behind the News that Serbia and its people have shown they are ready to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. Maybe not political, but they have provided humanitarian support and we are extremely grateful to all Serbs, Tolkach said.

Regarding the issue of Kosovo, the Ambassador said that his country’s Parliament recognized Serbia’s integrity back in 1999 and that this position remains unchanged.

Tolkach said that all world countries have been trying to determine themselves since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, including Serbia.

“What I can tell you is that it is difficult for us to live in this situation and balance between some political forces. It is difficult because today we need to determine ourselves, say where we are, on one side or the other. In this case, all states in Europe and all states in the world are trying to determine themselves, what side they will be on, one or the other, or maybe neutral. I think it’s a problem for all countries if we speak about international law”, he said.

“We highly appreciate all the countries that support us, because most European countries are on our side”, he added.

Vucic to meet with Lajcak, Escobar, political advisers (media)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic will meet with EU special representative for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue Miroslav Lajcak, US special Western Balkans envoy Gabriel Escobar and political advisers from Germany, France and Italy in Belgrade on Friday.

The three advisers are the foreign and security policy aides of the French president and the German chancellor, Emmanuel Bonne and Jens Plotner, and the diplomatic adviser to the Italian PM, Francesco Talo, the press office of the Serbian president said in a statement.

The meeting will be held at Vila Mir, with a press conference scheduled at around 5 pm.

Vucic receives German representatives (media)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic received German ambassadors in the region and officials of the Berlin government, including special Western Balkans envoy Manuel Sarrazin, in Belgrade on Friday.

“I noted the significance Serbia attaches to the relations with Germany and reiterated our country’s firm positions when it comes to cooperation in the region and respect of international law”, Vucic wrote in an Instagram post. He received Germany’s ambassadors to Belgrade, Tirana, Sarajevo, Skopje, Podgorica and from Pristina.

Kenya confirms it will not recognize Kosovo (RTV)

Kenya once again confirmed its stance of not recognizing Kosovo, Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Tanjug news agency, Radio Television of Vojvodina reports.

In a letter sent to the Ministry as a response to its congratulatory message on Kenyan Independence Day, it was said this country respects sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia as well as that it remains committed to the international law principles. 

Lawyer of Sladjan Trajkovic filed an appeal on his detention measure (Danas)

“The lawyer has filed an appeal to two-month detention measure and requested either house arrest or medical treatment in the hospital in Kosovska Mitrovica, given that Sladjan has liver cirrhosis, intakes insulin. He still has a wound on his leg, and his legs are swollen. Luckily, the wound he had on his head started to heal”, Suzana Trajkovic, wife of Sladjan Trajkovic, former Kosovo police officer arrested in mid-December told the media, Danas daily reports.

Trajkovic is accused of allegedly committing war crimes. Since 2013 he was working for the Kosovo police, which he left in November last year following the decision of Serbs to leave Pristina institutions in northern Kosovo.

Suzana Trajkovic also said that Miljan Adzic, another arrested Serb from Zvecan, stays in a cell next to her husband in a high security prison in Podujevo. Adzic is a father of two young children, and is accused of assaulting an official person when barricades were erected previously. He was arrested on December 9, at Jarinje crossing point.

Families and defence lawyers pointed to, what they called, an already established pattern of the Kosovo authorities while dealing with certain Serb cases. “First, they arrest them without any reason, then gather “evidence” and recruit “witnesses”. While they look for false eyewitnesses, they unjustifiably keep Serbs in detention, some for two years and longer”, she said, the daily reported.  

International 

‘We need autonomy’: Kosovo Serbs object to western diplomacy (Financial Times)

Marko Jakšić was so fed up about what he described as eroding minority rights for Serbs in northern Kosovo that he joined an exodus of government employees in a walkout which left many public services paralysed.

Several months on, hundreds of officials — including policemen — in the city of North Mitrovica have still not gone back to work. The protest, which was followed by a flare-up in ethnic tensions, has raised concerns in western capitals about yet another security crisis for Europe.

“We need autonomy,” said Jakšić, who is a court official. “And respect for Kosovo’s constitution, which guarantees equitable ethnic representation in the institutions.” Otherwise, he said, the stand-off would continue indefinitely and possibly get worse.

Kosovo’s majority Albanian and minority Serbian populations harbour deep mutual resentment after a war in the late 1990s when the former Yugoslav province broke away from Belgrade. Kosovo declared independence in 2008. The fragile peace has been enforced by a 4,000-strong Nato mission, but both ethnic groups are prone to escalation and western capitals often have to quell tensions before they spill over into violence.

Read more at: http://bit.ly/3XGuI2q